Speak Your Stakeholders' Language: Winning Words On 'The People's Court' (994)

I STOOD OVER THE FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY COUNTY COURTHOUSE TABLE, my pen poised, pondering the question on the form: “What is the reason for your complaint?”  

And in my head I heard the voice of an announcer for one of those court TV shows, which I rarely watched, but had watched enough over the years to imagine how it would introduce my case to millions. I heard it saying: “He says his neighbor mutilated his sidewalk.”

And so I scribbled on the form there in the courthouse: “My neighbor mutilated my sidewalk.”

UNLOCKING THE LANGUAGE GATES
When I filed a complaint for money to fix my damaged sidewalk, I had no idea I’d be unlocking a TV appearance and experience first-hand how speaking the language of a specific group creates relevant messaging that spurs action. 

But that's what happened: because I used the same type of phrasing that one particular group used daily, they heard me. And they answered. 

Some background:

• I’d wanted the person who’d recently bought the house next to mine in Elberon, New Jersey, to pay for messing up my sidewalk while renovating his place, ostensibly for flipping it. 
• At his direction, his construction crew replaced my functional, albeit worn, sidewalk with one that didn’t align with the existing one. The change ended up creating a safety hazard as well as an eyesore.
  
• When I complained, my neighbor responded by trying to patch the gaps between the misaligned sidewalks with concrete blobs. That only made things more unsafe and uglier. 
• After a while he stopped answering my calls altogether. 

WANTED COMPENSATION
So I went to the police. An officer told me I could file a claim for the cost of sidewalk repairs at the county courthouse. I had no idea that what I was doing constituted a lawsuit. I just wanted compensation for my trouble. 

That brought me to the county courthouse – where I scribbed, “my neighbor mutilated my sidewalk” on the “reason-for-your-complaint form” and filed a claim for $500 for the replacement of two sidewalk blocks. 

A Monmouth County court hearing was scheduled.

One night about a week before the court date, I came home from work. My wife said: "You got a call from a producer at 'The People’s Court' – they want you to come on the show to talk about your case."

PAYMENT GUARANTEED
I was shocked. I called them back and heard their explanation of what would happen if I argued my case in front of their judge on their show, which was syndicated across America.

After getting the facts, I said yes, I'd go on the show.

Why would I do that, you ask?

Was it because I craved attention? Publicity? The thrill of being on TV?

Nope.

It was that I was guaranteed money even if I lost.

SUREFIRE MONEY PROMISE

Claims on "The People’s Court" can be up to several thousands of dollars. But people are paid for their appearance whether they win or not (the judge's decision is legally binding).

Whereas in a traditional courtroom, it can be difficult to get the defendant in a small claims case to pay up if the decision goes the plaintiff’s way.

So sometime later, my wife and I found ourselves in a cold New York City TV studio facing "The People’s Court" judge Marilyn Milian, a former assistant state attorney for Florida’s Dade County.

To make a long story short: I won my case.

ROARING WITH TENACITY

I had to fight like a lion to get through Judge Milian’s barrage of words and TV shtick to force attention to a critical point and win my case (further proving the value of building dynamic public speaking skills!). 

And I got my $500 and was able to replace my two sidewalk blocks.

But here’s the thing I wanted to point out about this story.

When I turned on the TV weeks later to watch the taped telecast, what do you suppose I heard the announcer say in his booming voice as an image of my wife and I entering the iconic “The People’s Court” courtroom flashed across TV screens from coast to coast?

Why this, of course:

“This is the plaintiff, Michael Barris. He says his neighbor mutilated his sidewalk.”

Ah ha!!!

So I was on the right track!

I spoke their language and they heard me. At least in my court form, which was in the public record and they obviously found.

SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE

My point is: If you have an audience you want to reach – be it a group of stakeholders, a community group, or even a TV show producer – you must speak their language.

It doesn’t just mean speaking English (assuming that's your language for communication).

It means speaking English with an intimate understanding of your target audience’s needs. 

And the words or phrases that are guaranteed to arouse them emotionally.

CONNECT ON THEIR LEVEL

You can learn this by:

• Studying videos of high-level officials with the organization you want to reach speaking on the organization's website
• Perusing the organization's press releases
• Reading articles closely on the organization's website
• Looking closely at LinkedIn and other social media where members of the organization may talk about internal matters
• Connecting on LinkedIn with people who work for the organization you want to reach and getting to know them
• Volunteering to provide services to them, if it's the kind of organization that typically uses unpaid help (and you're OK with donating it) 

Additionally, you can learn how to communicate effectively with stakeholders by going to michaelbarris.com/mini-course and subscribing to a free public speaking series based on my bestselling book, “How to Become a Super Speaker: The 7 Principles for Speaking with Confidence and Connecting with Audiences.” 

You will receive tips, strategies and take-action assignments to guide you toward becoming an empowered speaker who knows how to create impactful presentations that resonate with any audience. 

It’s always important for effective speaking to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. 

But when you know the words that make them go, “Aha!”, even bigger results can come your way.